Judy taught middle school math and science for 25 years, loving almost every minute of it. Her work at UCMP began as a volunteer in the fossil prep lab in 1994. Though it was a tough decision to leave teaching, Judy has no regrets.

"Having the opportunity to work on projects like the Understanding Evolution and PaleoPortal websites and to interact with so many different people within the paleontological and biological communities is fantastic. I am constantly in a learning situation, which I love, and I work with an unbelievable group of people here at UCMP.

"If students do not know what scientists do, if they do not have a sense of how science works, and they never experience the joy and wonderment of science, then there is no reason why a young person would select science as a career.

I worry about science education. I worry about those whose goals are to weaken science and science teaching and to eliminate evolution from the classroom and redefine science. UCMP has allowed me to do something about those worries and I am very grateful indeed."

Publications:

Thanukos, A. and J. Scotchmoor. 2012. Making connections: evolution and the nature and process of science. Pp. 410-427 in K.S. Rosengren, S.K. Brem, E.M. Evans, and G.M. Sinatra (eds.), Evolution Challenges: Integrating Research and Practice in Teaching and Learning about Evolution. Oxford University Press, New York.